2002 enlargement of the Conference of American States

  

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Central America officially became a member of the Conference of American States as of 1 August 2002, after a process of negotiations and reforms that lasted for fifteen years, beginning in July 1987. The country applied to be evaluated for CAS membership in 1987, and the American Council recommended that it be granted candidate status in mid-1988. The negotiations and the screening process began in early 1989.

The process of joining the CAS was supported by most political parties in Central America, except the Social Democratic Party, which tried to slow down the accession process by claiming that it violated the military neutrality article in the Treaty of Sonsonate. The process was still supported by Nationalist administrations of Leonel Aguilar (1987–1992) and Alonzo de Guzmán (1997–2002), as well as the Democratic Alliance administration of Geovanni Valverde (1992–1997). These administrations carried out reforms in several areas, including the consolidation of democratic systems, the institution of the rule of law, the acknowledgement of respect for human rights, the commitment to personal freedom of expression, and the implementation of a functioning free-market economy. Furthermore, Central America, which continued Guatemala's territorial dispute with neighboring Belize, had to drop its territorial claims to Belize and normalize relations with that country as part of the accession process. Additional border security measures and customs were also set up along the Central American border with Mexico.

Opinion polling consistently showed that the Central American public always supported joining the CAS by a large majority. Central America completed its negotiations in December 2000, and the House of Delegates ratified the Treaty of Accession in March 2001, and after further consultations with the American Council, it came into force starting on 1 August 2002. A 2018 poll found that 76% of Central Americans believe that CAS membership has benefited their country, and 72% believe that it helped consolidate a stable democracy in the federation. Overall, Central America's membership has been viewed as a success, with its economic growth rates being some of the highest in the Western Hemisphere between 2002 and 2012, though it has been criticized by certain political parties in Anglo-America for increasing immigration (despite Central America not being part of the Lincoln Area).

Negotiations

The Federation of Central America was formed after the unification of five Central America republics in 1985 by the Treaty of Sonsonate, in the aftermath of the Central American crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The new state was meant to prevent the outbreak of massive civil wars that the countries in the region had been destabilized by since their independence in the 19th century. The countries of the Conference of American States – particularly Sierra, Brazoria, Superior, Astoria, and Manitoba – were already the number one trade partner of Central America by 1986, the federation's first full year of existence. Interim President Alonzo de Guzmán, as early as March 1986, proposed Central America's membership in the organization to further remove trade and immigration barriers, which he called necessary to fully begin the country's economic recovery from the devastation of the Central American wars. Sierran Prime Minister Ted Brundy and Superian President Alexander Ludendorff, who had pushed for sending military aid to Central American anti-Landonist forces during the war, told Guzmán in the summer of 1986 that their governments also supported the aspirations of Central America to become part of the CAS.

After the May 1987 elections, the new President Leonel Aguilar begin implementing his campaign promise to begin the process of joining the CAS. His administration issued the Sonsonate Declaration, a list of fourteen points that outlined the government's goals with regard to joining the CAS. In July 1987, Central America formally applied to be evaluated for candidate status in the CAS. The American Council made its recommendation to the American Parliament for it to be approved to be granted candidate status, which it was granted after the majority of MAPs voted in favor in June 1988. As part of this process, Central America begin implementing reforms in important areas starting from 1989, as required by the CAS, after the issuing of the first screening by the American Council.

In April 1989, the American Council issued the Opinion on Central America's Application for Membership in the Conference of American States.

Acquis chapter	CAS assessment at start	Current situation	Screening started	Screening completed	Chapter opened	Chapter closed
1. Free Movement of Goods	Considerable efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
2. Freedom of Movement For Workers	Considerable efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
3. Right of Establishment & Freedom To Provide Services	Considerable efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
4. Free Movement of Capital	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
5. Public Procurement	Considerable efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
6. Company Law	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
7. Intellectual Property Law	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
8. Competition Policy	Considerable efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
9. Financial Services	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
10. Information Society & Media	No major difficulties expected	Generally aligned with the acquis
11. Agriculture & Rural Development	Considerable efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
12. Food Safety, Veterinary & Phytosanitary Policy	Considerable efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
13. Fisheries	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
14. Transport Policy	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
15. Energy	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
16. Taxation	Considerable efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
17. Economic & Monetary Policy	No major difficulties expected	Generally aligned with the acquis
18. Statistics	Considerable efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
19. Social Policy & Employment	Considerable efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
20. Enterprise & Industrial Policy	No major difficulties expected	Generally aligned with the acquis
21. Trans-American Networks	No major difficulties expected	Generally aligned with the acquis
22. Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural Instruments	Considerable efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
23. Judiciary & Fundamental Rights	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
24. Justice, Freedom & Security	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
25. Science & Research	No major difficulties expected	Generally aligned with the acquis
26. Education & Culture	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
27. Environment	Totally incompatible with acquis	Generally aligned with the acquis
28. Consumer & Health Protection	Totally incompatible with acquis	Generally aligned with the acquis
29. Customs Union	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
30. External Relations	No major difficulties expected	Generally aligned with the acquis
31. Foreign, Security & Defence Policy	No major difficulties expected	Generally aligned with the acquis
32. Financial Control	Further efforts needed	Generally aligned with the acquis
33. Financial & Budgetary Provisions	No major difficulties expected	Generally aligned with the acquis
34. Institutions	Nothing to adopt
35. Other Issues	Nothing to adopt
Progress			33 out of 33	33 out of 33	35 out of 35	35 out of 35

Accession requirements

Border disagreements

Main articles: Belize–Central America territorial dispute and Central America–Mexico border